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Friday, November 27, 2015

Discovery Channel's Racing Extinction: A Global Television Event On December 2 at 9pm

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We are causing our very own extinction! Just by stepping out from our homes, it is already very evident from what we see around our neighborhood that we are in deep shit.

The streets are filled with all kinds of vehicles that pollutes the air. The rivers around the metro are stinky and dirty and could no longer sustain living creatures except for the harmful germs.

At a special advance screening for members of the media by Discovery Channel at the Bonifacio Global City Theaters in Taguig City, we've also learned of other facts which surprisingly very few people know about unless they are personally involved in the communities affected.

From the screening, we've witnessed how China has been involved in selling prohibited animal parts and even from endangered species. From sharks' fins to manta rays' gills, the country knows they are guilty of the illegal activities yet many of them are doing it because people, especially other countries, buy from them. So if we're thinking right now that China is solely to blame, then we are deadly wrong. Those who buy from these traders are equally responsible for the depletion of endangered animals. Many other marine life are decimated because of illegal and over-fishing. It these continue, it will be just around 100 years before many species we know become extinct.

There was a restaurant which was selling whale as part of their menu. Obviously, it needs to be shut down. But the crime is not only in selling endangered animals. Even livestock raising contributes to the polluted environment. At an experiment with cows, it was found out that they produce methane in a matter of just a couple of hours. A single cow can fart between 250 and 500 liters, or about 66 to 132 gallons, of methane a day. Methane is a greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide (CO2). But the negative effect on the climate of Methane is 23 times higher than the effect of CO2. Imagine how much they produce within the day, and how these gases slowly kill the planet.

We've also learned that the our seas play a major role in the balance of our existence. We have learned how important planktons are, we've learned how the pollution in the environment eventually affects the waters and kills the marine life.

At times like these, we are encouraged to stop eating fish and meat and just become a vegetarian. To stop riding our automobiles, and even mass transport like trains, ships and planes, and just consider walking or riding a bicycle which is a lot healthier. To love our environment for the benefit of our children and the next generations.

Louie Psihoyos, Shawn Heinrichs and Paul Hilton, were just some of the people in the Discovery channel special Racing Extinction feature who went around to inspect, experiment and expose these horrible situations happening in our world. We are expected to react positively because even our own little ways may soon cause a rippling effect to also encourage more people to follow.

Discovery Channel will be premiering Academy Award-winning director Louie Psihoyos’s documentary RACING EXTINCTION on Wednesday, December 2 at 9PM to a global audience. Discovery, the No. 1 distributed TV brand in the world, will premiere RACING EXTINCTION in 220 international markets across the world within a span of 24 hours.

In the groundbreaking documentary RACING EXTINCTION, director Louie Psihoyos and the group behind the Academy Award®-winning film The Cove assemble a team of artists and activists on a new undercover operation to expose the world of endangered species trafficking and the race to prevent mass extinction. Spanning the globe to infiltrate the world’s most dangerous black markets and using high tech tactics to document the link between carbon emissions and species extinction, the documentary reveals stunning, never-before seen images that truly change the way we see the world.

“With the help of Discovery, I believe we can create a tipping point to create the change we need to preserve a planet that can sustain life for all species,” said Louie Psihoyos, Director. “There has never been a more important time in the world than to be alive now — the decisions we make in the next few years will impact the Earth and animal species for millions of years.”

RACING EXTINCTION will be the catalyst for a larger, ongoing campaign utilizing the hashtag #StartWith1Thing to serve as Discovery’s call to action to create a global movement behind the RACING EXTINCTION television event. Discovery will leverage its global premiere and additional platforms, including custom branded content, Discovery digital, social media and virtual reality and Discovery Education, along with our partners, to ignite curiosity and global actions people can take in four areas: fighting wildlife trafficking, reducing carbon emissions through use of green energy/transport, supporting green causes, and eating less meat.

In the Philippines, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific will be mounting a Racing Extinction University Tour to promote the advocacy of the film. Schools participating in the tour include Ateneo De Manila University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, University of Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University and Miriam College. Starting from 27 November, there will be a special screening of RACING EXTINCTION for students, along with activities that will further enhance the film’s moving message. This includes a meaningful pledge to #StartWith1Thing, and help the planet win the race against a sixth mass extinction.

Greenpeace Philippines and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Philippines have also signed on to be the official partners for the University Tour. Coupled with its own Oceans Campaign, Greenpeace hopes to share information on the new Philippine Fisheries Law and the proper ways to dispose plastic and garbage to protect bodies of water. WWF will focus on developing awareness on the current state of our environment, and to raise funds that will help establish environmentally-sustainable programs.

“Louie Psihoyos's RACING EXTINCTION is required viewing for all citizens of the world," said John Hoffman, Executive Vice President, Documentaries and Specials for Discovery Channel. “Everyone needs to see this film because it vividly demonstrates the serious threats our beautiful blue planet faces. Even more important, RACING EXTINCTION shows how if we all start by doing just one thing to improve the environment, all of us together can leave nature healthier than we found it.”

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